DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth field hockey team came up short against Lasell University on Thursday night during non-conference play by a final score of 3-1 from Cressy Field. The Corsairs dropped to a 2-14 overall record on the season while the Lasers improved to a 7-8 mark on the year.
Sophomore forward
Arlene Johnson posted the first shot of the game for UMass Dartmouth in the opening five minutes of play that was blocked by a Laser defender. In the eighth minute of action, Ruby Wiedner sprinted down the right side of the field and slotted a strike into the back of the cage to give Lasell a quick 1-0 lead. Corsairs goalie
Shane Cueman produced a pair of big stops to keep the score at 1-0 entering the second period.
The Corsairs took control of the second period as junior forward
Brooke Lydon and first year forward
Olivia Palm each fired their first shots of the night. UMass Dartmouth earned their second penalty corner of the quarter with 22:14 on clock resulting in two goal-scoring chances for the home team. Junior
Ava Lozeau and Johnson each drilled a shot on frame to force two saves from Lasers goalie McKenna Ecker. Weidner notched a late strike on target but Cueman was ready to make the stop just before the break.
Junior captain
Sam Gacioch got the offense going for the Corsairs after ripping two consecutive shots including one on frame that Ecker was able to save. Shortly after, the Lasers started to gain attacking momentum posting 2-of-3 shots on-goal to tacked on two more stops for Cueman. Both teams exchanged shots early in the final period of the game highlighted by a defensive save by junior captain
Sophia Bouffard at the 53:57 mark.
Weidner put Lasell ahead with her second goal of the night off a penalty corner set piece midway through the fourth period. The Corsairs answered a minute later as Johnson slipped a shot past Ecker and into the back of the cage to cut the visitors lead in half to 2-1. Despite the late effort by UMass Dartmouth, the Lasers solidified their road win after Weidner recorded her third score of the contest to defeat the Corsairs by a final score of 3-1.
Johnosn notched her fourth score of the season for UMass Dartmouth after finishing the game with a career-high six shot attempts. Gacioch posted a season-high three strikes versus the Lasers with one on frame while Lozeau fired 2-of-2 shots on-goal.
Defensively, Bouffard registered her 12
th defensive save of the season which moved her to second overall in the Little East. Cueman made nine total saves in the cage for UMass Dartmouth and allowed three goals while Ecker picked up the win for Lasell with three stops on the night.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Little East Conference opponent VTSU Castleton for their Senior Day game on Saturday, October 25 slated for a 12:00 p.m. start time.
